Tangled Webs
by LoverOfThings
Summary: Peter does what none of the Avengers have ever done. AKA, 5 times Peter solved a problem with love, and the one 1 time they had to.
1. Love is Compassion

**\--**

**_Love is compassion_**

Peter was going to feel a lot better as soon as this stupid trip was over.

Granted, the fun Tony had been having from the teasing had made it worth it. He loved the thought of Peter's decathlon team coming to the tower for a tour. For the last two weeks Tony had spent more time 'pitching' ideas to embarrass Peter than anything else. The potential for the trip had the man giddy for days. Peter had tried everything in his power to cease whatever the genius was planning, through death looks, threats, and blackmail. He even tried to stay out hours later than his usual 'curfew' to threaten Tony. Which only ended in a stalemate.

Peter figured he was doomed when his peers, himself at the back, came off the bus and started for the door. Flash had a very signiture smug smirk that appeared on his face whenever he thought he was about to outshine someone, and the look was in full force. Peter didn't particularly care about Flash, though. He long since cared about validation from people he didn't care for or respect. But that smirk looked _so_ much like the gleeful look Tony had been wearing the night before, that Peter just glared. That probably didn't help his relationship with Flash.

"Did Mr. Stark tell you if he was gonna show up?" Ned whispered beside him. The group stopped at the doors, in front of them was a blonde woman Peter had only began to see recently. An easy to see badge of 'tour director' on her navy blue blouse. He figured she was new and probably forced to be the tour guide, instead of her usual secretary duties. A flash of recognition flashed in her eyes as she lingered on Peter for a moment.

He shook his head at his friend. "No, I don't think so. I went there last night. Everyone seems to be here because there was a 'threat' or something made against them. But, he could've been lying to me, I don't know." Ned hummed in response.

The blonde lady clapped her hands as the group settled in front of her. Peter noted her smile was unsettling fake. "Alright Midtown, is everyone ready?" She paused, waiting for an answer from the small group. After a few seconds of silence, she continued. "As you all have probably heard, this tower has made history in the recent years. Not only was this site the centre of the battle of NewYork fought by the world's mightiest heroes, the Avengers, but it is used as a headquarters of sorts for them as well."

"Are we gonna meet anyone cool today?" Flash interrupted. The group rolled their eyes, but no one said anything as they hoped for an optimistic response.

There was a slight hesitation of the woman. She began to make her way to open the large doors, as the group followed her few steps. "Steve Rogers does have a reputation for interrupting tours of the high school and college groups. But I dont think there will be any appearances today."

She opened the door and made her way inside, taking a few steps ahead to make room for the group. Slowly, everyone also made there way through the doors and into the busy lobby. Many people wearing bussiness attire were exiting elevators, shuffling around each other, but overall were heading out of the building. There were also at least three people Peter could see that were clearly wearing S.H.I.E.L.D uniforms. He stared uneasily at them as he also walked into the building, and immediately heard Friday's voice.

_"Good Morning, Peter." _The teen rolled his eyes. The response was so instant that Tony must have asked her to keep an eye out. _"We've been awaiting your arrival."_

Peter slapped his head into his hand as a song began to play _very_ loudly over the speakers. The bussiness people had jumped at Friday's sudden voice. The rest of the decathlon team had also startled at the voice, but more so at the name drop of 'Peter'. His team had turned to see his reaction. Everyone in the room had followed their action as the song 'To the beat Pete' started to play at a max volume.

Ned raised his eyebrow at his friend. Peter groaned and hid his face from the quizzical stares of his peers. He had no idea he could be so embarrassed by a song he hadn't even heard before. For three minutes the group had just stopped moving and talking as the sax and drums played.

After it was over, Peter carefully peaked his eyes out from his hand. The tour director coughed uncomfortably, her eyes still locked on Peter. Flash also still stared at Peter, his brow switching between up his forhead in shock, and close to his eyes with confusion. Bless the rest of his decathlon team. They had simply shrugged and returned their attention to the tour director.

"...Anyway, this is the level one ground floor of the building. Main lobby. I ask all of you to grab a visitor's pass from the front desk, in case anyone were to become lost or separated during the tour. Then we will go over some safety procedures." She stated, taking more glimpses at Peter than before.

The group naturally formed into groups of two and walked to the front desk. Another smiling woman, who Peter had shared a few conversations with while waiting for Tony, was handing each one of them a nicely laminated rectangular card attached to a leather necklace.

"So, um, what was that?" Ned asked finally.

Peter rolled his eyes again. "I try not to understand Mr. Stark's ways anymore." He answered as the two were the last to reach the front desk.

The woman smiled apologetically at Peter. She handed Ned a regular visitor pass, and reached beside her computer for a 'special' pass made for Peter. He gazed down as she handed it to him, letting out a small chuckle as his friend tried to get a look at it from behind his shoulder.

"Is he serious?" Peter laughed. His pass had a picture of himself when he was younger. Specifically, when he had attended the Stark Expo years ago. No one else would have known, but of course Peter recognized himself, especially when wearing that IronMan mask. Beside the picture was text that read, 'Restricted access: Kid's Table'. Peter also noted the small spider symbol at each corner of the colorful card.

"I bet the Avengers don't have to deal with this." Ned sympathized.

Peter grinned. "Oh, I'm sure they dont."

**\--**

Tony was having a little too much fun with this whole thing, Peter had decided. The jokes had been coming all day. There had been an 'intern of the month' party in the lounge. In one of the lower science labs they were researching meta-humans and G-forces, which meant Spider-Man was plastered everywhere. Out of all the antics, Peter appreciated that one the _least_. It was becoming agonizingly obnoxious at this point. Every room they entered played a different song with the name 'Peter' in it. Who knew there were so many? He was surprised he hadn't seen the man at all. Peter was sure Tony would've shown up at least to admire his handywork before slipping away.

He groaned loudly as the group stepped into another lab, this time instead of a song, a podcast or interview with Peter Dinklage started to play. The rest of the group had switched from being weirded out by the 'pranks' to being just as annoyed and frusterated as Peter.

"Mr. Stark is in the building." The tour director had walked over to whisper to him. "I could probably allow you to slip out if you do know him, to go see him."

Peter shook his head. "Oh no. I am not giving him the satisfaction."

She shrugged. One of the engineers of the building began his prepared speech. She tilted her head before asking, "So, are you close with Mr. Stark?"

"Um..." Peter hesitated. Was there a way to describe their relationship? He wasn't sure. It varied differently between scenarios. Some days Peter was sure Tony didn't like him at all. Put downs after put downs, ignoring him, telling him he couldn't be Spider-Man anymore. Then the next day Tony would be calling his school, his phone, his Aunt, ordering Happy to go find him, while already flying in his suit to him. Only to have Tony ask him random irrelevant questions and storming off. Or the weekends the genius insisted on Peter staying the weekend to 'bond' and not being around half the time. With all the ups and downs, Peter could say that the pair's relationship was definitely... honest?

He nodded. "As close as an intern could be, I guess."

She narrowed her eyes, but nodded with him. For a moment, Peter wondered if she was jealous. He wasn't sure how many employees who worked in the tower had never talked to Tony before. How many had never seen him in person? It would probably be annoying. Working at a place Tony lived at, and never seeing or have had a conversation with him. And then here comes some random teenager one day, who started getting all the perks. It would be rather irritating.

_"Peter Parker to the A floor please." _Friday's voice intersected his thoughts.

He glared at the ceiling. No way was he going to go up to the Avengers floor. If he went up there, Tony would win. And no way was he going to let him laugh about this day until Peter was in college.

"I'm not going up Friday-"

_"Mr. Stark says it's an emergency."_

Peter opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly a blaring alarm rang through the building. Uh oh. Tony wouldn't pull an emergency alarm just so Peter would go upstairs. At least, Peter hoped he wouldn't.

As the other students, and Ned unfortunately, started to have panic set in as they began to rush to nearest exit, Peter slowly slipped away. He headed for the elevators. He was surprised his spidey sense wasn't going off. If there was an emergency in the building, wouldn't he have sensed something? One of the security guards who had been following the group saw Peter begin to slip away, and followed him by trailing the wall.

Peter noticed the guard but continued towards the stairs. The man was just doing his job, clearly. Just as Peter was doing. This was his job. Actually, no. Jumping into action to protect people? That was his life's duty now.

He opened the door as he reached the stairwell. He held the door open for the guard. "Do you know what the alarm is for?" Peter asked, noticing the bluetooth in the man's ear. Perhaps he had received a message through the piece on the situation unfolding.

The man quickly reached into his chest pocket. Peter's head tingled, but instantly dismissed it as the guard cautiously grabbing a gun as a precaution. The man shook his head. "I imagine someone has a bomb." He said matter of factly.

Peter's eyes widened. He pushed both of them through the door into the stairwell as the guard was still fumbling with what was in his pocket. Something didn't sit well with him on the explanation. Tony called him to the Avengers level of the building because of that? Not that it wasn't important, but couldn't the others handle that without him? Or, if the other Avengers weren't in the building like Peter believed, couldn't Tony handle that perfectly fine on his own?

He frowned. "Must be some bomb, then."

The guard gave him a small smile. "Powerful enough to take down the Hulk."

Now Peter felt uneasy. He nodded at the man, not to make him suspicious, as he turned his back cautiously and started up the stairs. His head tingled again as he felt a cold thin metal stab into his neck.

He flung his body back as he felt the man's hands begin to wrap around his waist. The two bodies fell to the floor. The man's arm wrapped around Peter's chest, his other arm wrung tightly around the boy's face.

Peter could feel his body, and the superhuman strength that comes with it instantly become numb. His head both tingled with the realization of danger, and the mellowness that came with sleep. He had to get out of here. He tried to twist his body to the side off of the man, but was held in place by the other's arm around his chest. Then, he tried to scream for help as his eyelids started to drop. That attempt also failed as his screams were muffled against the older man's other arm. Finally, he couldn't fight against it anymore. His llimbs slowly stopped flailing. His voice faded out. His eyelids fell and he saw the welcoming blackness.

**\--**

"We... figure... they... no... blow-up... boy..."

Words slowly got filtered through Peter's ringing ears. He groaned as his mind finally started to restart. He squeezed his fingers, trying to wake himself up. He felt some sort of very cold heavy metal pulling at his hands as he moved them ever so slightly. Oh no. He was definitely in trouble.

"...Tony Stark..."

Peter ignored everything his body and mind were crying at him when he heard that name. He raised his torso as quickly as he could, and opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was his tour guide. She stood tensed looking through a window Peter couldn't see within his line of sight. Her thumb was in her mouth, biting her nails. Beside her was a new man Peter didn't recognize at first, until he realized he was one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the tower's lobby earlier. He sat next to the tour guide, on a wooden crate of some sort. A suitcase sized metal device was beside him, littered with different colored buttons. In his hand was a black phone, tilted to its side to talk better into. Peter's aching eyes scanned the rest of the area he was in. The large area looked as though it was a garage for small airplanes. As he scanned the area, he saw the guard that must have taken him. The man was tinkering on the floor with some sorts of liquids in styrofoam cups.

"Well look who decided to join us!" The guard chuckled as he noticed Peter.

The tour guide rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's great." She snapped, removing her thumb from her mouth.

The second man rolled his eyes. "You should've _fucking_ killed the kid in the stairwell or something Witold."

Witold. Peter nodded his head internally. The 'guard's' name was Witold. Okay. It was a start.

Witold growled under his breath. He knocked over one of his cups, a green yellow liquid poured onto the concrete floor. "Oh, so sorry for thinking ahead!" He retorted loudly, boarding on a scream.

Peter took a moment to assess himself. He wasn't tied to a chair or anything, so that was good. The trio seemed to have tossed him between the three of them. His wrists and ankles were bounded together however. His wrists were shackled by thick and heavy rusted handcuffs. His ankkes were also attached by newer and lighter silver handcuffs. Peter sat up more fully, his legs outstretched. Even disoriented, he could probably break the cuffs. But, he had no idea where he would go after that. He needed more of a plan befire he were to try anything.

"Either way," the second man continued, "we got what we wanted. The _Avengers_ are in a damage control mode. As close to panic as anyone would have wanted." The man grinned, changing his attention to Peter. "You know, I bet it would make Stern pretty happy if we stuck something of Tony's with a 'metal'."

_So, Hydra,_ Peter thought. He remembered from the news a few years ago about senator Stern being outted for being part of Hydra. Everyone figured there would still be some Hydra members around. They have been around since the second world war. One huge hit from the Captain, a spy, and a bird would not have been big enough to dig a grave. Perhaps this was a last breath?

Peter blinked at the threat. He'd probably have to be careful about this one. "Umm... can I quickly ask why I'm here?" He asked cautiously. He tried to sound as innocent as possible. He had to assume that they didn't know he had spider powers.

"You're here because _some people_ can't follow instructions correctly." The lady said, spitting the words out in disgust.

Witold scoffed. "Ok, Jennifer. What is your issue here? Because I can leave right now. You should be more kind to the only one who has the antidote."

Peter's ears twitched at the word 'antidote'.

"My issue, Witold, is that you taking this kid is _not_ what we all planned on. Of which has been in the works for _months_. You have put this entire operation in jeopardy and for what?"

"So we can have an out! If this operation goes awry, which we should factor in since we are dealing with the Avengers, having a card up our sleeve so we could possibly escape is the best out. This kid is that get out of jail free card!"

The woman, Jennifer, scowled and sat next to the second man. Peter stayed silent. So, there was probably some sort of bomb... maybe? Witold had mentioned an antidote. Was there some sort of chemical bomb? He tried to piece together the puzzle facing him. What could he do?

"W-what about an antidote?" Peter asked.

Witold answered. "I've been working on it for years. For normal people, my chemical formula when ingested begins to slowly and painfully clot the blood stream, fill the lungs, and doubles the amount of stomach acid, which then begins to trickle through the rest of the organs." He stared coldly into Peter's eyes. "It's a terrible way to die. For an individual with a different chemical formula such as abnormalities from gamma radiation, the individual's entire _being_ starts breaking down. Skin, organs, eyes, brain, everything..." He smiled fondly as his index finger circled the rim of one of his cups. "When an animal dies like that, they become very aggressive. I'm sure you can imagine what say a Captain or a Hulk would be like under this influence."

Peter stared at the man in shock. He tried not to seem as horrified and panicked as he was inside. He could imagine the damage Captain Rogers or the hulk could do under that sort of circumstance. Clearly Witold didn't know of Peter. He had radioactive spider blood for crying out loud! What sort of damage could he do under the influence of this chemical warfare? Peter didn't want to entertain the thought. He had to make sure they didn't find out he was in any way enhanced. Which unfortunately ended a lot of his escape plans that were currently brewing.

_'Okay, think Spider-Man'_. Peter had to think of something. He ran through the information of his situation. There was probably a chemical bomb close to the Avengers tower, he figured that much. His captors would preferably want to be as far away as possible from that point. So, Peter would put a high bet that the four of them were a large distance away from the tower. He still wasn't sure where, but it was a start. He also knew that he couldn't reveal himself in any way. As far as these people knew, he was just a normal intern that Tony Stark really liked. If he revealed himself, he would putting his identity at risk in front of Hydra, and he could have some of this mystery chemical used on him.

He sighed. He would really have to play his cards right on this one.

**\--**

Eventually, it was only Witold and Peter alone.

Everything had gone choatic would be an understatement. Inevitably, the Avengers did not appreciate the planted bomb, nor the mystery chemicals that threatened them, or the kidnapping of Peter. From what Peter had heard over the three conversing amongst themselves as well as on their phones, Earth's mightiest heroes were not amused.

The three had began to panic as the Avengers had started to close in on their location. Peter had listened calmly to their disputes of desperation. He may as well had been invisible to the trio. They could have just left the area as soon as they realized the Avengers were on their way, but there was only one issue... and that was Peter.

"We can't bring the kid." The second man had argued. "And we can't be here when the Avengers show up. And we can't just leave him here while we escape. He could identify us and everything Hydra has left could be in jeopardy. We have to kill him."

"We can't kill a kid!" Witold objected.

"Fine. You be the sacrifical lamb then. Stay here and wait for them to come. You decided to take him anyway."

And that had been the end of it. The second man and Jennifer didn't give Witold another passing glance before disappearing.

Peter hadn't moved much from his spot on the concrete floor. His cuffs had not been removed still. He remained quiet as Witold sat in front of him, also silent as his situation began to hit him. It was his own fault, he decided.

Peter's wide eyes softened. "Thank you."

Witold scoffed. "I'm so stupid. Did I really think a playing card could match a stacked deck?" He paused to meet his eyes with Peter's. "You know them, don't you? What do you think they'll do to me? That bomb... killed a few people."

Peter wasn't sure. He knew what Steve had done for Bucky. And he knew Tony was much more protective of things he cared about. Peter knew he was one of those things, whether he wanted to be or not. He also knew that if that bomb had gotten people killed...

Witold's lip quivered. "I know one of them. Black Widow. Years ago she started a fire in a hospital. My mother... died in that fire."

There was a long silence. A tear escaped from Witold's eye. He began to pick at the ground, changing his stare to the ground while he shared his vulnerability.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Peter breathed out. He reached out his still shackled hands to attempt to touch the man's arm.

Witold pulled away, slightly but also hesitantly. "I was excited by the bussiness model of Hydra, you know. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra are two sides of the same coin, you know. Until she took that away from me too. All we can do now is avenge it."

He continued. "I've always just wanted an apology, you know. When they destroyed Hydra, they leaked so many awful things they had done. And what did she say? The one who killed my mother? She said 'you need us'." He laughed half heartedly. "And now they are going to hurt me... because I didn't want to kill someone I don't know. Something she has become known for."

Peter didn't know what to say. He sympathized. He knew how hard it was when he had lost Ben. He had been so... angry at the person who had killed him. Peter's own eyes began to tear up as he empathized. He understood and felt the sadness and anxiety within the man. He understood the anger Witold felt.

And then, Peter saw a web. A tangled web, but also an answer. When the other Avengers got there, he couldn't simply plead with them to 'be nice' to Witold because he empathized with him. Peter had to figure out a way for Witold to escape without wrath from both the Avengers, and assumably Jennifer, the second man, and Hydra. He had to. Witold was hurting, he was in trouble... Peter was in front of someone who needed help. And he would _always_ save someone who needed help. No matter who it was, or what they had done.

Peter spoke softly to Witold as his plan formulated. "Witold. If I could help you escape, would you let me?"

Witold slowly rose his head to stare into Peter's wide, compassionate eyes. "Why would you?"

**\--**

Tony had decided on the flight that he was probably going to kill someone today. Or at least, get as close as possible. He really didn't like it when people messed with his stuff.

The threats were one thing. It seemed as if one person or a group of people were threatening him everyday. In the past, interviewers toed the line most of the time of being threatening. It wasn't new to him. Hell, a bomb threat wasn't entirely new either. A search team finding an actual bomb? It had happened once before. The chemical bomb was an interesting twist. That had taken him and Clint a while to disarm. Very stressful, actually, especially when not being able to fufully disarm it before four of his staff had perished. But someone _taking_ Peter? While he was embarrassing him? That was unforgivable.

Tony's suit communicator buzzed with Natasha's voice. "Are we sure this is the place boys? I'm not reading more than a couple of people in there."

Instantly, his suit scanned the old airplane warehouse. She was right, his readings found only two thermal body readings. One of them seemed to be in distress.

Tony hummed. "I'm usually not wrong, but Cap did have a few put ins so we never know."

He was becoming anxious. Tony tried to hide it, but if anything had happened to the kid... well, he wasn't sure what he would do. Maybe he didn't want to think about it.

Tony cautiously flew down closer to where the team would be mainly entering. The rest of the team, being Natasha, Steve, Clint, and Sam avaliable at the moment, stopped and started to exit a black S.U.V. Always making a dramatic entrance, they didn't waste any time. Steve and Sam each opened a side of the large door, sliding it open enough for Tony to fly in.

Nearly in front of them, was a dying Peter. Tony had paused with his arm raised in shock. The boy looked just like his four staff that had died earlier. His skin was pale, as if transparent, with dark blue veins visiably pulsing. Lips grey, instead of a normal peach. His eyes were bloodshot, his noticible brown eyes now nearly black. His chest raised heavly, struggling to bring in each breath.

Behind Peter, was a new man. Clearly Polish. He backed away when Tony had flown in. On his knees, eyes wide and scared. So, he was the man who had done all of this. An evil piece of crap.

Tony spoke calmly, but was shaking in anger in his pritective suit. His arm still raised, palm out, ready to blast the man. "What... did you do to him?"

The man was already visbily shaking. His face somehow contorted to be even more shocked when the Avengers ran in. He licked his lips. "The other guys did it!" The man pleaded. "When they heard you were coming, they infected him and left me here-"

"Wouldn't you be associated with them?" Steve asked, eyeing the clearly sick Peter. Something didn't seem right to him.

Witold stared at the teen desperately as he struggled to remember the lie he had told him to say. "I'm just a regular chemist. Hydra... they took me and told me to make-"

Tony landed his suit next to Peter, his face plate retracting. "Do you have a counteractive?!" He demanded.

"Well yes but-"

"Give it!"

Witold scrambled to stand up, a styrofoam cup in his hand. Steve's eyes narrowed. Did the man just happen to have an antidote in his hand? The others didn't seem to have the same suspicions as they had all circled the zombie looking boy.

Tony grabbed the teen's wrists, keeping him still. Peter sputtered, dark nearly black red blood flew from his mouth. His eyes were staring at the sky, threatening to roll into his head. Tony cringed at the sight. Luckily, Witold was quick to act. He rushed up as the others had formed a protective and curious circle around them.

Witold approached Peter from his back. He attempted to brush the brown hair out of the boy's eyes, before Peter had cried out in response to the touch. It was terrifyingly jaring for Witold. To see such a compassionate soul reduced to a scared, dying child, especially due to his own actions was horrendous. He muttered a small, "thank you," before tilting Peter's head, and dumping the liquid formula in his cup down his mouth.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Peter relax in his grip. He shot the man a knowing look. "Great. Thanks. That'll be all."

Witold nodded. "I'm sorry. Hydra gave me no choice." His few thoughts were interrupted when he saw Natasha to the left of Tony. Steve took notice of the look in the man's eyes. Witold took a deep breath. His gaze returned to Peter. The kid was already passed out, but Tony held him protectively. Witold touched the boy's cheek with the back if his hand affectionately. "You should probably get him to a hospital, though, right away."

The sentiment was all that was needed. Tony flew out of the warehouse, Peter's unconscious body carried by him bridal style. Natasha, Sam, and Clint hurried out to follow Tony. Steve stayed for a second more to eye Witold, before also following the others out.

With no one left around, Witold was free to take a breath to finally calm his nerves. Peter was smart, he had to admit. Jennifer and Hydra would think that he had posioned Peter on purpose, and would hopefully reward him, or at least accept him, for that action. And because of the lie, the Avengers believed that he was just a scientist that was perhaps blackmailed or used by Hydra. Now, because Peter had taken both the poison and antitode, he was being rushed to the hospital with all the Avengers not far behind him. Just what Peter had predicted. Which of course left Witold to now leave freely. Without much suspicion from either side.

Perhaps Witold was also leaving today with a second chance. Or a second perspective.

**\--**

When Peter woke up, he expected Tony near his bedside. Honestly, he expected Happy to be in his hospital room before he would've expected Steve.

He _definitely_ didn't expect such a stern look from Steve when he woke up. For a few minutes, they both just stared at eachother.

"Never do that again."

Peter blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes to the light. And adjusting his face to the sudden cold words. "What?"

Steve puffed, crossing his arms. "I'm going to make this quick because Tony is coming down the hall. I know what you did, Peter, and it was not okay. You manipulated everyone in this situation to get what you wanted."

Peter pursed his lips at his words. Manipulated everyone to get what he wanted? What was that supposed to mean? All he wanted was to save Witold. He didn't think he manipulated anyone, much less everyone in the situation.

Nevertheless, Steve continued. Standing up and taking the couple of steps to be closer to Peter. "What you did was wrong. It's fine that you wanted to help someone, but that someone was assiciated with Hydra and there's things about that that you do not understand. Also... Tony, Clint, Nat, me, we all care about what happens to you. We care a lot if you would ever get hurt. So for you to put yourself in a spot where you were _dying_ so we'd all rush you here and let a Hydra operative get away is incredibly reckless and manipulative."

The doorknob began to turn. Steve backed up slightly, but Peter could hear his last whispered words directed at him. "As of today, in my books, you are not to be trusted."

Peter didn't have more than a few seconds to process what Steve had said, before Tony walked in the room. The man looked as if he hadn't slept in days. His hair and eyes were wild and unkempt. His look softened as he saw Peter, quickly rushing to his side.

Tony smiled. "Glad you're up sleeping beauty." He said in a joking matter. His voice turned quiter. "Real glad."

Peter side glanced Steve. This is what the Captain had been talking about, he realized. The worry, the assumably sleepness nights Tony had had, was all on Peter. The few that had perished by the chemical bomb, would now not see justice because of him.

But... Peter had hope. Steve was wrong. All of this was justified because Witold would understand the error of his ways. Justice would come from Witold choosing from then on to do good. Peter didn't know if Witold would choose to better himself... but he hoped that he would. A calculated risk. If Peter wasn't trustworthy in Steve's mind, that was fine with him. He knew what he did was the right thing, no matter the consequences.

Still, tears swelled began to swell in Peter's eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark."

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

**\--**

**AN: Okay, so sorry if this feels a little rushed. I kind of just wanted to test this story concept out. This is the first out of six chapters, and it's all mostly written and the actual plot is planned out but I wanted to see what people thought of it first. Put some moral dilemma in there haha. Like, do you think Peter did the right thing or not, and how the question evolves with the story I've got cooking. I dont know, let me know! **


	2. Love is forgiveness

**_Love is forgiveness_**

One of the many things Peter and Tony shared was that they were both ridden with guilt.

It usually went uncommented on. They both knew a crippling guilt existed in the other. But, it was also a mirror neither looked into the reflection of. It was a strange dynamic. Neither wanted the other to worry about their guilt, because that would inturn turn into more.

And there was plenty for both of them to feel guilty about. More so Tony, but he chalked that up to being around longer to create more. Tony felt guilty for everything he had ever done, it was hard not to. So many villians he had created by his actions. So many awful things he had said to people during his time. So many important meetings and events he missed or disrespected. Having a massive company was even worse. How many people had he second hand screwed over? How many people had perished by the weapons he used to make? And people asked him how he could stay awake for days.

Peter had his own guilts that surrounded his life. He felt guilty of little things that would keep him awake at night. The embarrassing thing he said in first grade. The times he got caught in an awkward situation. Was it possible to cringe yourself awake? He was guilty of the people he couldn't save. Not that he could've helped it, and he feels too stupid to tell anyone. An event that would kill people in another country would have him crying for hours. He felt responsible and guilty for his Uncle's death. In the darkest parts of his mind, he feels guilty for no longer remembering what his biological parents looked like. Luckily no one ever talked about them.

Tony couldn't help but think of this while in his newest conference today. The conferences were never ending. If he grew to be one hundred years old, he would probably still be attending them.

Not that this conference wasn't important. It was very important in fact. A few weeks ago a last breath of Hydra had risen from the ashes. Different, small terrorist groups from the organization had begun to target significant buildings or landmarks. Significant, mostly to only the Avengers. The most targets had been in New York.

The incident two weeks ago was why Tony was even sitting in this uncomfortable chair being lectured to though. The smallest group, albeit the most dangerous had seemingly infiltrated Stark Industries itself for the attack. A receptionist that doubled as a tour guide, a security guard, and a janitor. The group had planted a bomb in the lower part of the building, with a combination of a mysterious and horribly deadly new chemical substance. Before Tony and Clint had disarmed the bomb, the spillage had infected and killed four S.I. employees. Not only that, but the group had all gotten away. While also infecting and nearly killing Peter, who they had kidnapped for the occasion.

Everyone in the country had been angry over the group escaping. Numerous protests had occured. Many demanded justice for the dead employees. And the American government had demanded the Avengers to be once again called into question. They looked for any reason they could, to be honest. It was the same speech the team had heard over and over again everytime they messed up. What was the point of the Avengers being an active force in the world to protect people if they couldn't do that simple job?

Tony grinned to himself, trying to cover his mouth with his hand. _Yeah. Simple. _

"Is something funny to you, Mr. Stark?"

Steve nudged his side and gave him the best 'disappointed and angry' look he could muster. The look was so funny, Tony couldn't help but quietly start chuckling. Unfortunately, a not so quiet 'ha' escaped.

There was furious murmurs behind him amongst the crowd. The suits in front of him also stared, their looks whispering their thoughts. Even beside him his teammates were glaring.

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. "Oh come on. We've done this how many times?" He gestured between all three of the parties he was trying to appease. "We can't change what happened sitting here and talking about it. In fact, if we weren't here right now we could be tracking down these guys and bringing them in before they find another target!"

The main suit in the middle of the others seemed to match Tony's energy. The corners of his mouth twitched to somewhat of a smile. "There is a reason you're self proclaimed as a futurist, I suppose Mr. Stark." The man's head tilted to stare at Tony better. His voice mimicked a patient but disappointed father. "But there is a reason why we have to deal with the past before focusing on the future, Mr. Stark."

Tony raised his brow. "Is that a homework assignment? In which case I think class is over." He elbowed Rhodey on his other side. "Did you hear the bell ring?"

The former man waved his hand. "Yes, meeting adjourned. I expect you all to meet me in Washington Thursday."

Tony had risen and began to walk through the hammering crowd before the man had finished his first word. Steve let out an annoyed sigh as he answered. "Of course, sir. See you Thursday."

Peter was waiting for Tony outside the doors when they flew open. He rose from the bench instantly. He cringed slightly at the flashing lights from the cameras and the loud questions coming from the rising voices of the reporters. Following Tony places wasn't always ideal when you had enhanced senses, it turned out.

Tony gestured his hand and a click of his tongue for Peter to follow him by his side. "How'd it go?" Peter asked, rushing to catch his mentor.

"All of my meetings end in success, kiddo." Tony said confidently, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Peter grinned, mischief in his voice. "So... you got a talking to?"

"I am Tony Stark. No one gives me a 'talking to'" He said fake defensively. He pulled out his sunglasses from his chest pocket, carefully eyeing Peter. "Hey, just checking, but you're sure those guys and that scientist didn't slip where they were heading?"

Peter rolled his eyes. It was getting harder and harder to not talk about what really happened that day with Tony constantly questioning him. One would think perhaps Steve might have told him something. That wasn't the case, but it was giving him anxiety on when the captain would let the secret slip. The two had barely spoken since Peter had woken up in the hospital. Which took an effort, since Peter had been staying at the tower due to the incident. They were all mostly at the tower. The compound upstate had been deemed too dangerous to be at, for reasons no one had shared with Peter. It was confusing and irritating.

"I've already said no they-"

"Do you think you're intern would lie to you Anthony?"

The voice stopped the pair in their tracks. Turning around, they saw the man who had asked the question. His appearance mirrored Tony. Carefully brushed back dark red hair, wearing an expensive tailored green-black suit. His hands were behind his back, and stood a few feet behind them.

Tony eyed the man cautiously. "Of course not. Just double checking." He reached his hand out. "Was there a summoning for Norman Osborn? What brings you here?"

Norman removed his hand from his back and shook Tony's. "One would say. I have been asked to speak on a predicament involving one of my funded prisons. Ten days ago there was breach and several prisoners escaped. We imagine it has to do with the recent Hydra activities."

Peter glanced between the two men. He had never actually seen Norman Osborn in person. He had known his son, Harry, from Midtown High, though. And he was right, his father was intimidating. The way he carried himself, and the way he spoke oozed out the man's danger and especially his intelligence.

Norman side-eyed the teen glancing between them. He focused his attention on him, bringing his hand over. "You're one of Anthony's newest interns." He stated the fact as if he knew everything about Peter before saying it. It was a statement that could not be defuted. The same with his next statement. "I'm Norman Osborn."

Peter raised his brow before meeting Norman's eyes. The man stared so confidently. Unblinking and sure of everything. Peter briefly thought of him as one of the gargoyles on some of the older buildings in the city that we swung past. He shook his hand. A strong and firm handshake. "Um. Peter Parker."

The man hesitated for a moment. A flash of acknowledgement sparked in his face. "Parker?" He echoed. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a Richard Parker, would you?"

Tony's eyes narrowed. He was already cautious of Osborn. His company were one of the ones that started to fill in the void that was left when Tony left the weapons industry. Norman came into the spotlight specifically after the Hydra defeat, due to Sam Wilson's involvement. The wings jet pack hybrid that was used by Sam's squad had actually been made by Oscorp, Norman Osborn's company. He then since revitalized into a weaponized glider. Not only did Oscorp produce weapons, but the company was heavily involved in genetics research. Which was under extreme secrecy. A lot of things Oscorp did was secret, actually. The scientists research and findings were almost never made public, a number of buildings and prisons across America were owned or funded by the company, and there was digging underneath the city that were kept under wraps.

So many things involved with Oscorp were mysterious, much like the man himself. Tony couldn't shake the feeling that something about this exchange seemed deliberate. His hand on Peter's shoulder tightened.

The hand on Peter's shoulder seemed to take him out of his daze of hearing the name. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his brain to think clearly. "Yeah. He was my father."

Norman's head bobbed, not quite nodding but not staying still. He withdrew his hand and placed it in his pocket. "My apologies for asking. He was one of my best researchers. I knew he had relatives in NewYork, but I was not aware he had children." He pulled a bussiness card out of his pocket, pushing it to Peter. "I still have many of his manuscripts if you ever wanted to visit Oscorp. Ask for Sean."

Peter grabbed the card. Giving a quick look, it was very simple. Pure black, with the Oscorp logo, an address, and phone number.

Looking at his Rolex watch, Norman began to turn around. "Well, I must be going. Pleasure to see you as always, Anthony. And a happy accident to meet you, Peter Parker." He fully turned and walked the few feet to the conference room door, opening it and disappearing.

**\--**

Tony peeked over the teens shoulder. He reached over the couch the boy was sitting on, and handed him the plate piled with pizza. On the tablet Peter was using, Tony could vaguely see the news article that was being read.

"Now you're reading his scandles? I thought I was the only billionaire bussinessmen's scandles you read up on?" Tony tried his best to give Peter a very serious and offended look. "Peter, be honest with me. Are you intern cheating on me?"

Peter didn't seem to mind the man's jabs. He took the plate and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. Since earlier in the day when Norman Osborn mentioned his father's name, Peter couldn't get the man out of his head.

"You're so weird."

Tony frowned. He didn't like the half hearted tone and lack of witty remark the answer had. He wasn't quite sure how Peter was feeling, he couldn't even imagine it. He knew how he felt when someone mentioned his own father. How his body temperature seemed to drop, and his insides felt like it would do a flip flop. But Tony had his father by him for years. Not that Howard was always there for him, but he had been alive. He had the option at fifteen to call his father.

Peter didn't have that. Peter didn't have a father to call. Tony didn't know too much about Peter's real family. All he knew really was the basics of tragedy. Grandparents were dead. No cousins at all. Parents had died in a plane crash when Peter was only four years old. The boy was left with only his Aunt and Uncle. And then his Uncle Ben was shot and killed about a year ago. All that was left of the family was May and Peter. No wonder they acted as if it was them against the world. There wasn't another option besides that.

"What are you reading?" Tony asked, attempting to break the silence.

Peter hummed. "I'm reading about the prison escape from one of the prisons funded by Oscorp. All of the convicts were from Queens, weirdly enough."

Tony's eyes narrowed. He had been doing that a lot since the run in with Norman. Hopefully his eyes wouldn't stick like that. This was starting to stink weird. They just happened to run into Norman, he just happened to talk about Richard Parker, and now the convicts that escaped the prison he funded were from Queens? It was all too perfect of coincidences. But, Norman was a very intelligent and clever man. If he was planning anything against him, it definitely wouldn't be obvious. Not that Tony had any reason to believe Norman was conspiring against him. Nor did the coincidences seem to go together for a reason like that. Tony just knew it paid to be cautious.

Just then, Tony realized Peter hadn't spoken for a few minutes. He widened his eyes once again and stared over at the teen. Peter was trained on the tablet. He wasn't scrolling at all. His jaw was clenched, and the hand at his side was curled into a fist.

"What's-"

"I know him."

The words weren't addressed to Tony. It was like the words were said to the universe itself.

Tony frowned, making his way back to look over Peter's shoulder again at the tablet. On the screen, there was a list of names. It was the list of people who had escaped from the prison.

Tony was piecing together the answer before he asked the question. "Who?"

Peter didn't answer. He stood up, tossing the tablet down on the couch. Tony knew that Peter was quick, but his movements became astonishingly fast. He grabbed his backpack at the side of couch, ripping free his familiar web shooters and mask. Before Tony could really react, the teen was racing to the patio outside, racing to put on the items while also removing his shirt to reveal the matching costume beneath.

"Hey! Kid, hold on!"

Peter wasn't going to wait, Tony figured out. The boy was already out of his usual clothes, and now fully in his Spider-Man gear. The costume, mask and web shooters were in place. His clothes uncaringly thrown on the floor. Peter stood on the railing, taping his shooters alive. And with a quick 'thip', he jumped off before the web had attached itself to a building.

Tony hissed under his breath. Whatever name was on that list had clearly set Peter off. The kid was already acting dismissive and reckless. Tony fought the urge to run to the balcony to see if the web had ended up attaching to a building and if Peter hadn't just fallen to the concrete below. Instead, he turned and started to race to the stairs, to the floor below him. He had to get a suit.

**\--**

Tony knew the kid was a marvel, but this was ridiculous.

It wasn't hard to find him. One of the many great reasons to have a tracker in a suit. Again, the kid was _fast_. By the time Tony had gotten into his suit, and started to fly out, Peter had swung all the way to Queens. And when Tony had finally flown to the neighborhood, Peter was already in one of the shadier parts of the city. Near the offskirts of the city, somewhat close to the centre. Near the store Peter liked to get his favorite sandwich, Tony noted.

Flying above where Peter had just been probably seconds ago, Tony could see that the teen was off the rails. Maybe unhinged. He'd have to see about that one. What had set him off Tony couldn't tell. On the way over, he had checked with Friday over every name that was mentioned in the article that he had been reading. There wasn't anyone mentioned that did anything directly related to Peter. The best he could guess was someone listed could have hurt someone he cared about, but also someone Tony didn't know about.

Tony took in the damage on the now empty street as he landed. A very old and abandoned building was destroyed. Something had hit it full force. Probably that also wrecked car in the middle of the wreckage. The metal of the car was bent to fit perfectly in a teenagers hand. Tony cringed at the image of Peter throwing a car with that much strength. Especially directed at someone. Also in the damage side of the things, there was a crater on the street. If Peter _landed_ on the street that hard-

He shook his head. No. He couldn't keep thinking about this. He had to find Peter. If Peter was going to do something he was going to regret...

Luckily, Tony didn't have to wait more than another three seconds. One the street a block over, Tony heard the desperate cry. "HELP! Oh God! Please! SOMEONE!"

He was up in the air instantaneously. Tony's chest began to ache. Oh please. _Please_ don't let Peter do anything bad. He wouldn't be able to handle it. Peter was innocent, good, caring, wise, and loving. This carnage and anger and hatred was not Peter. This was so wrong.

The sight he saw was almost... familiar. This street was also completely deserted. Pieces of a broken fence littered the area. There was mostly empty stores on this street, so at least there weren't many family homes on this end. Peter was standing in the middle of the street, staring down a cowering man sitting on the sidewalk.

Suddenly, Peter's foot disappeared underneath a small and dirty truck that was beside him. He lifted his leg, and the entire truck lifted into the air. As it came down, Peter's curled fist hit the roof of it. The truck folded to match the hard impact to the roof, and was sent flying through the air.

The man screamed and attempted to roll out of the way. Tony quickly raised his hand, firing a beam at the truck. The hit landed in the side of the truck, blasting it out of the way.

Tony landed himself between Peter and the terrified man. He raised his arm as a warning to Peter. "You need to stop." He threatened.

"He. Killed. Ben." Peter growled.

Tony paused. How did Peter know that? There was nothing in his file that Tony found that had anything to do with murder. Much less the murder of Peter's uncle.

The man began to sob. Or was already sobbing. Tony wasn't sure. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry please-"

He didn't get another word out. Faster than Tony could see through his face plate, Peter shot a web at the man. The web collided with the man's chest, and immediately Peter pulled it, bringing the man spiralling to him. Tony reached for the man as he flew past him, but missed. Instead, Peter's free hand reached out, and grabbed the man's throat as he was brought to him.

Now Tony was frantic. "So what? Are you gonna kill him?"

Peter's eyes were cold and harsh. He didn't seem to have even heard Tony's words. He stared into the eyes of the man struggling in his grip. "You're scared." He spoke to the man. "Ben was scared too."

Oh. Oh no. Tony got it now, as he blood froze to the words Peter spoke. The man may not have been caught with the murder of Ben, but someone knew he did it. Unfortunately that someone had been Peter. Tony raced through his own thoughts. Had Peter _witnessed_ Ben's murder?

Still, Tony tried to reason with him. "And what good is this going to do?!"

Luckily, that seemed to stop Peter. It was as if a blanket had been pulled off of him. His brow twitched as his eyes slowly began to warm again. The struggling man gasped for breath as the hold on his neck began to break.

"Im... Sorry..." The man breathed out again.

Tony could feel the hostility ending, and dropped his hand that was locked on Peter. He sighed. It looks like he wouldn't have to do anything drastic to stop Peter tonight. Yay.

Peter smiled behind his mask, and let go. The man dropped to the ground. He panted and wheezed, rubbing his sore neck with his palm.

Peter breathed once more. Letting out the anger inside him as he exhaled. "I... forgive you."

**\--**

The next time the pair were together was outside another conference. Tony had made Happy fetch Peter to join him in Washington. The kid arrived late, but Tony needed to make a point to talk to him. He waved the rest of the Avengers through to the large conference room, assuring them that he would be there soon.

Tony turned to watch Peter uncomfortably sit on the bench. How cute. He thinks he's going to get yelled at.

"You really freaked me out the other day." Tony finally said, crossing his arms casually.

Peter shrugged.

"Why didn't you do it? Don't tell me you would've done it anyway if I wasn't there." Tony didn't want to know that Peter would've killed a man by his own accord. He couldn't handle being responsible for someone else's leash. He already had several people that held on to his own.

Fir the first time since the incident, Peter looked up to stare into Tony's eyes. "No. I would not have."

Tony nodded, satisfied that that was the honest answer. But his curiosity peaked. "How did you forgive him?" Not why. Tony already knew why he forgave the man. But... how can you forgive someone who _killed_ someone you loved? Tony asked the question more so for himself.

Peter leaned his head back as he thought. "Because... I mean, it still hurts. The past hurts so _bad._ If you had asked me months ago if I had one wish what would it be? It wouldn't have been to bring Ben back. It would have been to kill that guy. It hurts so much I would've like for someone to be dead."

Peter turned his head, giving Tony time to take in the weight of what he had said. Peter knew Tony understood those thoughts.

"But then I thought, I _really_ thought about it. I always thought it'd feel so good. To have revenge you know? But it doesn't. It made me feel... sick."

"Why?"

"Because I thought getting revenge would get rid of all this hate I had. That the hate would just suddenly disappear. Really, it just started to create more. I'm always connected to the past, with Ben, but it's like that hate from my past was a weight holding me down."

"A lot more good can be made in the world through forgiveness of the past, than through the hatred that keeps us from getting to the future."

Tony wasn't sure what to say. Shame? Tony had a hard time forgiving anyone. It wasn't a reality to him. He didn't forgive, he forgot. He still hadn't forgiven his father, and it had been years. Maybe he wasn't good enough. Maybe he wasn't strong enough. This kid was definitely the strongest Avenger.

He looked away, feeling the heaviness of Peter's eyes and words. He suddenly felt so dirty and bad in the same room as Peter. He had to get away from him. Tony turned away and fumbled opening the conference doors. Racing through, he was met with the judging eyes of the rest of his teammates and the senate.

The room was quiet as Tony walked down aisle. The suits stared with annoyed looks caked on their faces. His teammates looked exhausted and angry. When Tony eventually got to his assigned seat with a mic in front of him, it was safe to say no one wanted him to speak.

But no one ever told Tony Stark what to do.

He sat down, bringing the mic closer to his face. "I have completed your homework."

Chuckles came from around the room from the press. The main suit smiked, honestly amused. "And what did you find out, Mr. Stark?"

"Well, I'm not going to say, for the fifth time by the way, that we should just move on from what happened. Instead," Tony turned around to address the people behind him. "I'm asking, on behalf of the Avengers, for forgiveness."

**\--**

Norman kicked at the splintered wood on the ground. Observing the rest if the destruction, he smiled. The choas around him, and the still fresh fear from the people around him was... lovely.

"You're information was correct, Witold. This young man could be exactly what we've been searching for."

**\--**

**AN: Thanks for everyone who favorited and followed this story! Also, a thank you to Belbelanne. She reviewed my other 5 times story, and the only one to review this one as well. So thank you everyone!**

**I hope you like my inclusion of Norman Osborn. I would've killed for him to be in the MCU with Tony. It would've been a great dynamic with Peter, and it sucks that we'll never have it on the big screen. Anyway, thank you for reading the second chapter, and please review, follow, favorite, whatever. I'm on this train now bois. **


	3. Love is putting others before yourself

**_Love is putting others before yourself..._**

**_\--_**

Spending a month with the Avengers was definitely something he wish he could tell his ten year old self. It was honestly a dream come true. Ned was so jealous. Actually, since the awful decathlon trip to the tower, everyone at school had had a large interest in him. The interest was now already fading, but that first week was like he had been walking on clouds.

If he had told his ten year old self that while with the Avengers, Captain America would be passive aggressive and giving him the stink eye the whole time, he would have some questions. _What did you do to have Captain freaking America mad at you? _That's complicated. Grown up stuff maybe? _How are you supposed to fix it?_ Well, firing back at the super solider probably wasn't the best solution.

"Hydra was trying to elliminate all of their potential enemies via weaponised strikes. Is it possibly the plan could be the same but through a different means? That could explain their targets." Steve said, crossing his arms. Peter has dubbed that his thinking stance.

"Wasn't Shield gonna do, like, the same thing though?" Peter pointed out, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth. By now he has almost excluded himself from these meetings with everyone. This meeting, he found himself sitting at the counter to eat while the rest of the team circled around the couch, talking about possible leads.

The team internally groaned. It clearly was no longer a secret that Steve and Peter were having some sort of beef. No one has managed to piece out why, or been succesful on getting the other to spill. Now they just had to endure the inevitable bickering. They preferred when the two weren't talking to each other.

"No, Shield was not-"

"But like, Hydra was _secretly_ in Shield, right?" Peter continued, now pulling out his phone. He wanted to be nonchalant. After several arguments, he knew it bugged Steve. "And Shield was making those battle ships or whatever right? And then Hydra were just gonna use them for basically the same reasons? Are we really just gonna blame everything that was wrong with Shield on the Hydra infiltration?"

Natasha tried to step in. These sideline arguments wasted so much time. "Peter. Tread lightly. Hydra is a very touchy subject in this room."

"It almost sounds like you sympathize with Hydra kid." Steve said, glaring down Peter. The passive agressive tone was in full force.

Peter glared back. "It almost sounds like you're still in the forties, Cap. I'm just saying that not everything is black and white."

This time, Tony interjected. "Okay, I don't wanna deal with this today. Pete, if you don't wanna contribute, find a different teddy bear picnic." He waved to the hallway for indication.

The others looked away. Sam continued to stare at Steve's increasingly frusterated face. Natasha and Clint were looking at each other, possibly having a silent conversation. Wanda had immediately turned her gaze to the floor when Steve began to speak, and Vision followed. Them looking away from him just made Peter even more irritated.

"Fine!" Peter stood up, making a point about making his exit dramatic. He started for the hallway. "Making your voice of reason leave during your war meeting sounds like a great idea!"

"If you're going to have a temper tantrum, go to your room!" Peter heard Sam call from down the hall.

Peter should probably not tell his ten year old self that living with the Avengers was horrible. He wished this whole thing could be done with so he could go live with May again. Of course they talked and saw each other nearly everyday. But it wasn't the same. Peter didn't understand it. The threats had pretty much stopped. There was occasional activity, but not much. He suspected they didn't want to take a chance until everyone was caught, but still. Maybe they would just kick him out if him and Steve kept fighting.

Peter opened his phone screen as he opened the door to his room. He had a new text. He didn't need to read it, he knew what it is and who it was from. Peter sniled, rushing to open his window. After, he removed his shirt and pants, leaving him in his familiar Spider-Man suit. He fetched his mask and webshooters from his bed. With those attached, he was free.

_"Peter has swung out the building, sir." _Friday's voice interrupted.

Tony massaged the bridge on his nose. "Whatever," he sighed.

"Still not gonna tell us what's going on with you and the kid?" Sam questioned, carefully eyeing his friend.

Steve shook his head. "He knows what he did." He stated simply. Trying to change the subject, he looked up at Tony. "Are you still going to that party tonight?"

Tony nodded. Steve nodded with him. "Be careful. Anywhere we go should be considered dangerous."

**\--**

With a double front flip, Peter landed on the roof. He never did make much noise whenever he landed, a small nod to his enhanced agility and strength.

In front of him, sitting on the edge of the building with her legs hanging over, was the girl he had come to see in the first place. Long, white hair stood out from her all black outfit she normally adorned.

"Felicia." He breathed out.

Her head twitched. The only sign of her acknowledging his presence. "Peter." Her voice whispered out, bringing the feeling of seeing a pearl in an ordinary clam.

They had been friends for a while. Peter had swung in on one of Black Cat's burglaries. During the tussle afterwards, they had began talking. Conversation had led to someone both needed in their lives, albeit on opposite sides of the same coin. Both were enhanced teenagers, and they both had an animal theme. The two also yearned for someone to express their feelings to. Peter had needed someone to talk to about his feelings about Tony, the Avengers, and now more recently his trips to Oscorp, and Norman Osborn. Felicia needed someone to explain herself, and how she lived, without judgement. The two sympathized with each other's truama.

Peter walked to sit next to her, crossing his legs as he sat down. "Is everything alright?"

She shook her head. Her white side bangs bounced with the movement. "Hammerhead has the one image that implicates my father in that robbery. I have to get it."

They both turned their head at the same time to look at the other. Her green blue eyes appeared older than they had any right to look. "Will you help me?" The question wasn't asking, it was a confirmation.

Peter shrugged. "I'm not doing anything else tonight."

Normally, Peter would never help Felicia steal anything. There has been times where he has done so, but never intentionally. This situation was a bit different, though. The pair had been working the case for Felicia's father for nearly three months. He was a cat burglar, and has made quite a name for himself. He was already in prison, so it would be easy to frame the man for many other robberies. Hammerhead, a bad guy Peter has been investigating for a while, took the opportunity. Hammerhead was caught stealing _something_ from a university lab, and was now trying to frame Felicia's father.

Felicia smiled down at him. "Thank you. He'll be at a party tonight at the North side." She raised her eyebrow. "So how's the _Avengers_?" Her voice mocked him at the word.

Peter rolled his eyes dramatically, despite her not being able to see his eyes through his mask. "If we're all in the tower together any longer, I think it'll be another Civil War. Steve's still mad at me."

"Why is he mad at you again?"

"Because I let a Hydra scientist get away. And technically two agents." Peter puffed, resting his chin on his hand.

Felicia giggled. "I thought it was because of your weird suicide attempt."

"Is that what we're calling willingly letting a strange science man inject me with a mysterious chemical mixture that instantly made me start dying slowly and painfully?"

"I think that's what you called it last time you told me. Yeah."

The pair laughed. Here they were, in full costume, hanging out on a rooftop. Talking about stealing from a villian with false evidence of robbery. And also about letting a man involved in recent terrorist activities escape, via 'weird suicide attempt'. Sometimes, they had to laugh at their lives.

Felicia wiped a tear from her eye. "Okay, okay, how about Osborn?"

Peter rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Since meeting at the conference, he had gone to Oscorp several times. He liked Norman. The man was very intelligent, and they had began to work on some projects together. He appreciated to be out of the tower. He still hadn't asked to see his father's manuscripts though. And Norman seemed to take a big interest in Peter. Everytime Peter walked in, the man would drop _literally_ everything to work and talk with Peter.

"You know, he's been great. It's like hanging out with Mr. Stark before this last month."

Felicia nodded. She leaned back, and outstretched her legs. "It must be cool for such great people to notice your talents."

"Just wait, someone will notice you too."

**\--**

"Do you see Hammerhead?"

Felicia nodded. Through her night vision visor across her eyes, her mask, she could see everything through the buildings windows. And there the man was. His large forehead was near impossible to miss.

"It has to be in his inside pocket. He's been keeping the picture close to him." She grinned at her partner. "Just in case an enemy snuck into his house. Or a curious cat."

Peter winked back. "Or a sneaky spider crawled in."

Felicia laughed softly. She loved whenever Peter was like this. He should try being free more often. "Should we break the window to get in?"

He shook his head. "No. We can't be that reckless. We should sneak in upstairs."

"Then what? Remember, the picture is in his coat. And I think it'll turn a few heads if Spider-Man just showed up. Especially Tony."

Peter's head perked up instantly. "What? Mr. Stark's here?"

Felicia pointed below them. "Yeah. He's down there schmoozing right now."

Peter peered down. Yup, there the billionaire was. Slim black suit, and the usual sunglasses despite it being being very dark outside. It appeared he had just stepped out of a limo. Tony was still shaking hands, smiling, and posing for pictures.

Peter groaned. "I should have known Mr. Stark would show up at a charity party. Especially in NewYork." He turned to Felicia. "He can't see me."

She shot him a look. Why Peter cared so much about Tony Stark was beyond her. "He won't. He'll be downstairs, where the party is." She pointed to where Hammerhead was still visible through the window of the large two storey building. "And we'll be up there, where the real action is happening."

Peter nodded slowly. "okay... I was thinking you could lure him away from everyone. And then when he's alone, we could take the photo."

Felicia also nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Time to get into character."

**\--**

"Anthony. I'm pleased you're here."

Tony turned around from the bar's counter. He did not expect Norman Osborn to be standing behind him. The man wasn't known for making public appearances. Especially not charity events.

"I'm surprised you're here." Tony replied. He signalled the bartender for another drink.

Norman wasted no time. "Is Peter here with you?"

Tony groaned. In the last few weeks, Norman and Peter had began to get close. Just as Tony felt his safety grip on Peter slipping. The kid had started to visit Oscorp more and more often. A couple of times Peter had even opted to work on a project with Norman than himself. It was... midly irritating.

"No. Sorry to disappoint you." Tony didn't try to hide the distaste in his voice.

"Actually, you are just who I wished to speak to, Anthony."

Tony's glasses lowered as he raised his eyebrows. He could finally fully see Norman. The man's hands were once again behind his back. "Okay, well first, please stop calling me Anthony. It's condescending. Second, I don't want to talk about you're hair gel products. It looks way too buttery."

Norman attempted to smile, but it was of no use. "No. I would like to speak with you regarding Peter."

"Oh great. What did he do this time?"

"No, he didn't do anything." Norman explained, shaking his head. "It's about you and Peter."

Tony rolled his eyes. He has places to be. "Okay, enough with the circles. Just tell me whatever you wanted to."

Norman sighed. "I think you should cease your mentor duties with Peter."

Tony leaned his head back slightly in shock. What did Norman just say? He shouldn't be Peter's mentor anymore? Peter must have said something without thinking again. The kid has been doing that a lot lately. This felt like he was an employee, and Norman was the manager, and Norman was telling him that he was fired.

"Excuse me?"

"I believe that you are unfit to mentor such a bright and impressive young man." Norman explained. "You're continued presence in his life can only lead to Peter making bad choices in the future."

"Reasons for this before I go all tin can on you." Tony shot back. This was unreal.

Norman chuckled. "Alright... You're toxic, Anthony. Everyone who grows close to you gets hurt because of your actions." He paused to see Tony's reaction. After staring into Tony's narrowed eyes, he continued. "Colonel Rhodes, his body was injured from your decisions that led the group to the airport. Not to mention all the times your bad decisions got him reprimanded."

Tony thought for a moment. He has hurt his best friend, so many times. Besides his mother, he was the first person who Tony felt actually cared about what happened to him. Rhodey only ever wanted the best for him. He helped him quit drinking so much, he helped him to know his worth as a person. And how had Tony repaid him?

"Or, Pepper. You used to treat her so rudely I'm surprised she can still tolerate you. She must really love you. And yet, you continue to put your life in danger as if you have nothing left to lose."

That was also true. Tony never knew much about love. He had unconditional love for his mother and father, but he always felt that the love his father had for him wasn't all there. Just like Howard's mind, his life could never stay still. Tony was convinced he had to become a good man before he could love someone else. But then, the love of his life showed up before he could complete that. Pepper hated whenever he put on his Ironman armour. Tony could see it in her eyes. It was unfair. He could care so much about her well being, but when reversed, he would dismiss her. That must hurt a lot.

Norman could see that his words were finally getting to Tony. He smiled. "So... How are you going to hurt Peter?"

Tony shook his head. No. Peter showed up in his life when he was a better man. He couldn't hurt anyone now.

Norman stirred his drink in his hand. "He's so much like you. Maybe that's how you'll crush him. After spending so much time with you, he'll start to become just like you." He stared up again at Tony's lowered glare. "And no one should ever be like you."

Tony's heart started to race at the same time as his brain. Be like him? He was a mess. Yes, no one should be like him. All he ever does is hurt people. He hurts people he cares about. No, Tony doesn't intentionally hurt people anymore. The hurt just accidentally becomes a bi-product. Besides, he never wanted Peter to be like him. He wanted Peter to be better. But... how did he expect Peter to be better than him if the kid was only surrounded by Tony and people who weren't better?

"And, for reasons I cannot fathom, the boy seems to have a love for you." Norman continued. He tried to keep himself calm. By Tony's silence, he could tell that he was striking the right nerves. "And frankly, you don't deserve it."

For this, Tony did have a retort. "Yeah, well, I take a lot of things I probably don't deserve."

_For such a genius of a man, he is so easy to outsmart, _Norman thought. "Well than it appears you aren't much of a changed man. That's very selfish." He turned to be more into Tony's line of sight for his final blow. "Anthony. If you truly had any love in you for Peter... you would let him go. You need to back away."

Tony nodded faintly. Perhaps Norman was right. Maybe the man wasn't speaking like the suspicious man Tony knew him as. It seemed that Norman was talking from a place of love and care for Peter. And Norman didn't seem to make as many mistakes as himself. Perhaps Norman was onto something. Tony should back off from Peter. For the kid's own good. When you're trying to be better than something, eventually you have to leave that toxic something, right?

**\--**

"Fancy meeting you here." Felicia said, a signature smirk across her face.

Hammerhead spun around instantly at the voice. He waved off the butler he had been talking to when he saw her.

"Well hello kitten." He replied, eyeing her. She was a wonder. It was a shame she was also the notorious Black Cat. She was such a talent in so many ways. She could have been so useful. "Is there a reason you've come here? This party isn't really the kind you normally attend."

Felicia walked closer. "I came to see you." She purred. "Thought I could liven up the evening for you." She outstretched her hand, her index finger landing on the top of his chest.

He raised his brow curiously. Hammerhead may have been a cautious and no nonsense man, but even he had weaknesses. "And what did you have in mind?" He asked.

She smiled seductively and her eyes shifted to the right of them to a fairly large and unattended storage closet. "Do you want to find out?"

He knew he should walk away. The Black Cat was infamous among most of the underground criminals in NewYork. No one screwed with her, or you'd get the claws. Hammerhead knew this was very well some sort of trap to steal something from him. However, he also knew that he could beat the girl in a fight. He also wouldn't know what he had that Black Cat would want to steal. He always has his blackmail up his sleeve, literally, but Hammerhead didn't have any on him that would interest her, as far as he knew. No matter how he spun it, his tightening pants seemed to win the debate.

"You have struck my curiosity." He chuckled.

Felicia grinned evily as she grabbed his tie. She pulled him forward, bringing his lips in front of her. She breathed hotly. When she felt his breath as well, Felicia knew she had him. She grabbed his hand, and began to drag the man to the closet.

She opened the door quickly and shoved him in as she walked in herself. With a quick glance to the ceiling to see Peter, she hurried in herself. Peter was holding on to the ceiling in the darkened room, like a spider on a wall. Waiting for the perfect moment.

Felicia smiled. "Take off your clothes."

Hammerhead hesitated. Something about that immediately put a bad taste in his mouth. "I'm flattered kitten, but only my pants can come off."

She sighed. That just ruined plan A. On to plan B. She reached behind her and clicked the knob, locking the door. "You just had to do this the hard way, huh?"

Hammerhead froze. His suspicions were correct, at least. He lifted his left foot and stuck it behind him, getting into a fighting stance. Oh well. He had been fighting for a lot longer than this young girl, he could take her. There was a reason he was named after a shark after all.

As if reading his thoughts of taking the girl down, Peter dropped from the ceiling, and landed in front of Felicia. He stared Hamnerhead down. "Hope I wasn't interrupting something between two clearly consenting adults!" He said both sarcastically and happily.

Hammerhead had to laugh. "Oh! The Spider and the Cat are together again?"

"It's a bussiness relationship." Felicia responded. She grabbed Peter's shoulder and walked ahead if him. She uncurled her other hand, revealing her sharp claws. "Now let's try this again. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Take off you're coat."

"And what could I possibly have in my possession at this moment that would interest both of you?" He asked, holding his fighting stance as she approached.

Finally, Peter spoke. "Ever heard the saying about knowing what kind of person a man is by what he keeps in his pockets? Something like that."

Hammerhead glared. "You kids ain't getting fuck all from me. Walk away before this party gets a little too fun."

"I just wanna have fun." Felicia nearly giggled. As she took another step toward the man, she swiped her hand, clawing at his shirt. Not expecting a sudden hit, he reacted too slow and her claws slashed three large holes through his shirt.

He gasped, before glaring furiously at the two. "This. Is. CASHMERE!" He bellowed. The man stepped and swung at Felicia. She ducked and sprung her body to the side, crashing into the coat rack.

With her dazed, Hammerhead turned his attention to Spider-Man. The man launched ahead, his large and steel plated forehead was leaning out first. Peter squatted, before leaping back onto the ceiling. While doing so, he flicked his wrists and thin webs connected to the coat Hammerhead was wearing.

The man continued to run forward, and collided with the door of the closet. The door flung open, and Hammerhead went barreling out of the room. Peter leaned his back while on the ceiling to see the man. Just as Hammerhead was out of the doorway, Peter pulled his web and the man's jacket slid swiftly off his shoulders.

Felicia stood up in time to catch the flying coat being swung at her. She quickly reached inside one of the inside pockets, and took out three black flash drives. Leaving not much longer to think, she took a few steps back, and then jumped to grab Peter's outstretched hand. Peter caught her hand, and swung her body to the top of an opened vent. Her free hand extended her metal claws, and she attached herself to the side of the vent. She let go of Peter's hand, and mirrored her action with her now free second hand. Hanging on to the side of the vent, she slowly began to move her body upwards, using her clawed hands.

Hammerhead growled when he felt his coat being taken of his shoulders. Some people in the room turned their attention to him as he came barrelling out if the closet, but most paid no mind. He spun around, in time to see Black Cat's feet disappearing above the floor. He grunted once more, and ran for the door he had just come out of.

Peter waited silently for a moment, watching Felicia escape from the closet. He switched back to watch Hammerhead, as he had began to race back toward them. Smiling, Peter stretched his back foot out and hit the top of the closet's door. He laughed as he heard the man crash into the wood as soon as the door had slammed shut.

"Hey Cat," Peter called as he also began to crawl up through the vent. "What do you get when you mix a shark and a broken door?"

Felicia heaved herself into a side vent. "Lemme guess. A hammerhead?" She crooked her neck down at him. "I think you said the joke wrong."

Peter chuckled. He stole one more glance below him. No angry shark man coming after them. Great. "Sorry. I had to make it relevant."

"Hammerhead's going to be looking for us. He's probably calling his guy's throughout the city right now." Felicia pointed out, shuffling down through the vent. "Wanna take this date somewhere more... private?"

"You're place or mine?"

**\--**

His place, apparently.

Before Felicia flew through the open window, Peter had made Friday _swear_ not to say _anything_ to Tony or the others that he was bringing a girl into his room. After that sigh of relief, he asked the A.I. to lock all the doors leading into his room. After the proper precautions were made, he waved her in.

Felicia whistled as she swung herself through the window. She took in the room. Tony Stark didn't go easy on anything it seemed. The bedroom was very large, and filled with expensive furniture and decor. "You always take me to the nicest places, Pete."

"Just trying to treat you to good time, Cat." Peter quipped back. He walked to the large desk on the other side of the room. He opened the most recent S.I. laptop that was on top.

He reached his arm behind him as Felicia followed him to the desk. "Can I see those flash drives?"

She pulled them out from her utility belt, handing them over. "What do you think are on them? That picture of my father has to be on one, right?"

Peter eyed them in his hand. He grabbed one of the drives, and stuck into the side of the laptop. "Hopefully. Friday, also don't tell Mr. Stark about these."

_"Of course, Peter." _Friday replied.

Felicia jumped at the voice. This place was so weird. Where she lived they didn't even have a dishwasher, so all this technology in one place was almost off-putting. She stared at Peter for a moment. He had taken his mask off, but still wore his suit as he began to type on the laptop's keys. He was incredible. After spending the entire day and night together, which she very much considered a date, here they were in his room... alone together. Any other person would know where this would be going, and yet he was still tunnel visioned on the 'mission' at hand.

She had already decided that she liked him. A lot. Felicia thought that Peter felt the same way. Didn't he? They trusted each other, they were vulnerable with each other, and there was always some sort of sexual tension between them, wasn't there? Felicia suddenly felt her face getting hot. What were they doing right now? They had the drives, presumably the picture if her father. Mission accomplished, right?

Well, if she was defined by anything it was her confidence. She grabbed Peter's hand, making him cease typing for a few moments.

She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say to him. The words just seemed to slide out. "You can stop for a few minutes. Be with me."

Peter blinked. "I am with you."

Felicia rolled her eyes so hard her entire body moved. She let go of his hand and faced the rest of his room. "Not like that, idiot."

He hit a few more keys before turning his attention back to her. "What do you mean, then? Hammerhead has ties with the Kingpin. I have to decode everything on these flash drives."

A few minutes passed. Felicia sighed. Peter always did this. Complete focus on these cases that could 'help' people. "You don't owe them anything." She finally whispered.

"What are you doing talking about?" Of course Peter had heard her. "Who don't I 'owe'? If I have the power to help and save people, I'll do it. You know that."

Felicia ran her fingers through her white hair in frusteration. She began to pace around the room. "But you don't _have _to!" She cried.

"Don't I?!" Peter's frusteration matched hers. "These powers-"

She lifted her finger to shut him up. "These powers are terrible. Don't you dare."

Now Peter rolled his eyes at her. "They're not terrible."

Her rant was on now. Possibly a product of bent up anger and jealousy at the spider. "Of course you'd say that. You're buddy-buddy with the _Avengers__!_ But the ones who aren't? The people with powers who still have to get by? They don't get it." Her face softened as she walked back to him. "But you still get it, right?"

She was close enough to him to grab his hand that was by his side. She brought it up closer to the middle of the space between them. "We have to live in fear and shame of being enhanced, while they live it up. It's not right. Because right now, you shouldn't have to be Spider-Man, and I shouldn't have to be Black Cat. Right now, you're just a boy and I'm just... a girl."

She finally stared up at him. He was looking into her eyes, but she couldn't quite put a pin into what was going through his mind.

"Don't you want to be irresponsible sometimes? Can't we just have some fun?" She asked, leaning her head towards him, her lips pursed.

"Felicia. I can't." He backed away. "I won't just put something as important as these drives aside so we can..." He paused, thinking of the right words. "Be irresponsible."

She also backed away from him, slowly. "Can't...or won't?"

Peter's look was soft and hardened. An inner strength she didn't know he possessed shined through. "Both."

* * *

**AN: Thank you for everyone who has followed or favorited the story! I would also kill to have Black Cat in the mcu. I really like the dynamic between the two where Peter is responsible (obviously) and Felicia is irresponsible, but they both deeply care about each other. Despite if Bkack Cat is robbing a bank or something and Peter has to stop her. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter! **


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